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4. Sunday after Pentecost, 06/16/2013
Sermon on Luke 7:36 – 8:3, by Nathan Howard Yoder
36 One of the Pharisees asked [Jesus] to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. 37 And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, 38 and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner." 40 And Jesus answering said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." And he answered, "Say it, Teacher."
41 "A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?" 43 Simon answered, "The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt." And he said to him, "You have judged rightly." 44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven-for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little." 48 And he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." 49 Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, "Who is this, who even forgives sins?" 50 And he said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
8 Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means. (ESV)
"If this man were a prophet..." Simon's internal monologue underscores the direct continuity between this encounter and the miracle in last Sunday's gospel pericope, Luke 7:11-17. (John's question, "are you he who is to come," separates the two events in the narrative, and leads directly into Simon's own musings to that end.) Jesus spoke, and a dead man - a widow's son - lived again. The enormity of the miracle and its Scriptural significance were not lost on the crowd. Elijah had done the same at Zarephath, and the parallel cannot be ignored. "A great prophet has arisen among us!" Like John, Simon wants to know who this man is, and he invites Jesus for an evening of food and conversation. The interloping woman proves to be the catalyst for their discussion.
Like Simon, the woman has undoubtedly heard of the miracle at Nain and Jesus' other wonders. Luke describes her as "a woman of the city who was a sinner", leaving neither doubt as to the particular nature of her sin nor the frequency of her transgressions in question. If there is one quality that accurately describes her posture, it is audacity. Knowing full well her status under the law, she enters the house of a Pharisee, obviously uninvited. She brings an expensive jar of ointment, ostensibly bought with her earnings as a prostitute. Kneeling behind Jesus, she washes His feet with her own tears, dries them with her own hair, and covers them with the sweet-smelling, ill-gotten oil. Filled with shame, filled with need, she knows simply what she has heard: that this man is holy. And she lets neither public spectacle nor polite convention get in the way of her serving Him.
Simon's reaction, while certainly predictable ("God, I thank you that I am not like...",Luke 18:11), remains nonetheless ironic. Earlier, Jesus had moved in the way of a funeral procession. Defying custom, He had touched the bier upon which the dead man lay, in one quick moment rendering Himself unclean according to the law. The words that followed - His Word, with the weight of ultimate authority behind it and determinative of reality itself - did not correct the uncleanness so much as utterly erase it. Young man, I say to you, arise. And it was so. Now, a woman made unclean by a multitude of sins has defied propriety to come into Jesus' presence. The Word of authority speaks again, and it is so: Your sins are forgiven. She who had been dead in her sins got up, and she went in peace.
Who is this, that he can forgive sins? The astounded whispers around the table betray the radical importance of the encounter. That a man could bring the dead back to life is one thing; but to forgive sins? That is a prerogative reserved for God alone (Luke 5:21). That the woman is forgiven is thus a far, far greater miracle than the event in Nain, and a testament to the divine nature of He who accomplished it.
Faith is audacious. We who have been baptized into Christ know the severity of the old, dead sin that emerges daily to cloak the entirety of our lives. We know we have broken His commandments, and we know our unworthiness of His forgiveness. Nevertheless: we come boldly in faith to the assembly of the Body of Christ to receive our Lord. The Spirit compels us. In confession, whether corporate or private, we bring our broken selves to Jesus.
And He has something to say to us. We hear the Word of the Crucified and Risen Lord, the Word of absolute authority and ultimate reality: You are forgiven. We approach His table, take and eat His body and blood, given and shed for us. We know that having taken the whole of our uncleanness upon Himself, He is personally making us righteous and holy in Him. Christ speaks, and we are healed. And we go in peace and wholeness, called to sin no more.